Iran presidential candidates stress China, Russia ties ahead of vote

TEHRAN -- Conservative candidates seeking closer ties to China and Russia are leading opinion polls ahead of Iran's presidential election on Friday, which has drawn limited interest from voters disillusioned by the country's continued economic woes.

Six candidates are running to succeed President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May. If none wins a majority of the votes, the top two candidates go to a runoff election on July 5.